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My red carpet journey…. I was asked by my boss to join our “twitteratti” team in Los Angeles to cover the red carpet event, The Britannias: The highest accolade presented by BAFTA Los Angeles. A celebration of achievement honoring individuals and companies from the US, UK and beyond who have dedicated their careers or corporate missions to advancing the art-forms of the moving image.

This trip would be different than the others, for it would be the first time our group would be shoulder to shoulder with the major network and entertainment television shows, showcasing #SocialTV. What an exciting time! With #SocialTV, our team is able to get the news out in real time, verses traditional television which would air the next day.

The #Britiannias were held at the Iconic “The Beverly Hilton,” in Beverly Hills. The hotel is known for its history of star power guests and events. ​

Ok, so here is what the red carpet looks like in “real life” ​

Covering red carpet events absolutely has it’s glamour but there is also the very real “flipside”. Here is an example: this tiny square of carpet , next to the hedge, is our piece of real estate – that is it. It would be politically incorrect to take one step into another networks “patch” of the red carpet. We looked like “glam” cattle lol.

When one is on the red carpet, the “talent” aka the celebrity, has an “handler” this person is responsible to keep him or her on time through the carpet and to let the press know who is next on the interview line by presenting a quick bio and name of the person. We shoot this piece of paper so that we can go back and have the details needed to report on the interview.

Actors from Downton Abbey to Dr. WHO, walked the carpet. The ever so elegant Jane Seymour and her daughter were soooo delightful. She stayed and talked to us for quite some time. Her drop earrings are from her own collection, Open Hearts by Jane Seymour by Kay Jewelers.

She shared her beauty secrets by confiding “ Don’t do what everyone else is doing” No botox, facials – none of it. This SO inspired me for I am ALL about doing the natural and to age gracefully without the pressures of Hollywood. ​

One by one they walked. Now part of my job is to have questions prepared that would engage the actor into conversation(s) and also to knowing the cliff notes of the person’s bio. This takes hours of preparation prior to the show. In addition I am preparing “social content” to start engagement on all platforms before during and after the event. My job it to TREND the event. In this case the #Britiannias. What does it mean to trend? This means, we have a volume of tweets that are engaging twitter users and it is a topic that is being “most discussed” at that particular time.

That means my head is in my phone for hours with my fingers typing as fast as I can and also improving for creative content for my twitter feed. This is so ironic, coming from a girl who almost failed typing in high school.
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While having my head in the phone, tweeting, my colleague bumps me with his elbow and says , Jon Favreau is in front of you. I look up and there he is! I said “Hey, I have a question for YOU” he said “ Hey what is the question” I asked him what is his “secret sauce” he laughed and proceeded to tell me in every detail the key sauce he used to prepare food in CHEF. I was thrilled! ​

It was getting late and almost time for the event time begin - whisking by was Emma Watson, Dame Judy, Dench, Robert Downey Jr said hello, Dustin Hoffman and Mark Ruffalo.

I am pleased to say our group TRENDED! It was a beautiful experience …I wonder what lies ahead ;) #pinkdreams ​

High school kids picture At BAFTA Los Angeles, we believe in using the art forms of the moving image to empower, motivate and inspire the next generation of talent. Discover more about the initiatives we run in our efforts to nurture the next generation of industry professionals.